Q: YouTube Live Streaming :: HOW IT WORKS -- From the Inside...

[quantass]

I am very much interested in the behind-the-scenes technical aspects on how video streaming services like YouTube and Twitch work.

I am aware of the hardware / software independent broadcasters use on their PC to encode their video (ie. Roxio, Xsplit) BUT THEN they transfer this encoded packet out to the streaming service and THAT is where i am lost. What happens when the packet hits the server; what magic occurs so that (YouTube for instance) after 30 secs or so the end viewer NOW has the option of various quality levels (ie. 240p, 360p, 720p), is able to watch the live stream, is able to video seek back and forth on the live stream, and do all this with other users across the world watching concurrently.

What BOOKS or PAPER or WEBSITE can i investigate to get a complete understanding of this black-box which transforms one's local video encoded packets into something seen on a YouTube live stream??? What is that hardware, software, and its topology to make it all happen?

Much appreciated.

[Baldrick]

You can start reading about adaptive streaming from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_bitrate_streaming

[quantass]

You can start reading about adaptive streaming from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_bitrate_streaming

Fabulous. Thank you for the term. A good start indeed....